The Fall of Punchinello
by Heritor
Summary: When Mario found Punchinello in the mines during the Smithy crisis, ever wonder what brought him to that point and why he wanted to take Mario out? Perhaps his actions were villainous, but his heart certainly followed a long road to get there...


**The Fall of Punchinello**

"He's beautiful," his mother said, holding him gently against her chest.

"Yes, and amazing that he doesn't cry," his father added. "He's a strong boy."

"What shall we name him?"

The baby finally opened his eyes, then gazed at the two adults around him. He stretched his two tiny arms then let them slam down abruptly- on his father's face. The parent recoiled slightly from the blow, then smiled.

"No doubt about it. He's strong indeed. About a name, let's see… Well, he didn't cry, so he's a very mellow boy. His punches pack quite a wallop too. Mellow-punch, punch-mellow…"

"Putting two exact words together might not sound the greatest," his wife told him with a laugh. "Let's work with them a bit." After a few exchanges, the parents reached a decision.

"Punchinello it is," his father concluded.

**Fourteen years later…**

"You dummy! Why did you have to kick the ball so hard?" a young Goomba shouted.

"I'm no dummy! I'm just really strong," another retorted.

"Yeah, and look where that strength has gotten us. How are we supposed to get that ball down now?" The two Goombas grew silent, then eyed a young boy nearby who was lying down and gazing at the clouds overhead.

"You, that Bomb Summoner kid."

"Oh, yes? What can I do for you?" he replied, getting up and walking over to them.

"My strong, idiotic brother here kicked our ball up into that tree. Think you could, you know, blast it down?"

"A bomb might hurt that tree," Punchinello pointed out.

"Who cares? It's a tree. One of billions. Just get our ball down."

"Well, okay. Micro Bomb!" A tiny bomb with eyes and a wind-up knob on its back suddenly materialized. He set it down at the base of the tree and stepped back. The two Goomba moved as well. Seconds later, the bomb blew up, knocking down the tree and freeing the ball.

One of the Goombas grabbed the ball, and they both resumed their game. Neither of them thanked Punchinello for his help. Suddenly, the door to a nearby home opened up, and a wizened, old Terrapunch came strutting out. He gave Punchinello a deathly glare.

"Ah! It's old man Terrapunch! Run!" one of the Goombas yelled, and they both high-tailed it away. The young Bomb Summoner stayed where he was to accept his punishment.

"At least you've got the brains to know you can't escape me!" he yelled at the boy. "Do you know what you did?

"I broke that tree. I am sorry. It won't happen again."

"Nope, that's not what you did." Punchinello gave him a perplexed look. "Have a look see at my shirt. What do you see?" A dark brown liquid left a large blotch on the Terrapunch's attire. It looked like either chocolate milk or coffee, so Punchinello knew what it must be.

"I see coffee," was his reply.

"Do you know why my coffee is on my shirt and not in my coffee cup?" he asked him.

"No, sir."

"That loud thundering from that tree you blasted scared the livin' daylight outta me. Made me drop my cup and spill it all over. I get coffee for free from my kids, but cleaning this shirt is a problem. You're gonna pay for it to be cleaned, ya hear?"

"Yes, sir."

An older Bomb Summoner looked at his window and saw the two talking. He stopped washing dishes and came outside to see what was going on.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Terrapunch?" he asked him.

"Does it look like everything is alright?" he shot back. "Yer kid was goofing around, causing trouble and knocked down that old tree near my house. Made me spill my coffee all over myself. Some restitution is in order."

"I agree," Punchinello's father said. He turned and headed back home, then emerged with something in his hands. Old man Terrapunch thought it was money. He finally got back and opened his arms to reveal a dishtowel. Before he could object, Punchinello's father had wiped the coffee off of his shirt. "There. All fixed. Come on, son."

"What the- Hey, you get back here! That's not good enough! You hear me? I said-"

"Are you alright, son?" he asked his boy.

"Yes, father."

When they were safely inside, his father knelt down to eye level with his son and asked, "What kind did you use?"

"Just a Micro Bomb."

"Wow, I'm impressed. You made one of those tiny things strong enough to knock down that huge tree? I couldn't make those that strong at your edge. You're gifted."

Punchinello beamed.

"Still, I don't encourage destroying nature. However, I've raised you to feel that way too, so why did you do it?"

"The Goomba twins from next-door got their ball stuck in a tree."

"And let me guess. They asked you to blast it down?"

Punchinello nodded.

"Those two… I'll bet they bolted at the first sign of trouble, too. In the future, if they need something like that from you again, just ask me, okay?"

"Thanks, father." Then the two of them hugged.

"Dinner is ready," his mother called, and the three of them went to the table for their last meal of the day.

"Nello is really talented," his father said, making conversation.

"You're just now noticing that?" his wife responded with a laugh. The others at the table chuckled as well to that.

"He made a Micro Bomb strong enough to knock down that giant of a tree near old man Terrapunch's house."

His mother made a very impressed look and glanced at her son. "Sounds like your lessons are going very well."

"Actually, I barely have to teach him a thing. He's a natural. He learned the Sand Storm ability faster than I've ever seen," he commented. "Eventually, he may just be able to summon the giant of all explosives, the King Bomb itself."

Punchinello's mother stopped cutting into her food and said, "The King Bomb? Not even you or your father have been able to create one of those. You really believe little Nello here can do that?"

"I do," he replied, as he continued to eat. "I've never seen such a gifted Bomb Summoner at that age. I had trouble making the Micro ones that young, but here he is making them strong enough to knock down a giant tree. I have high hopes for you, son. Tomorrow, your training intensifies."

It was a lot of pressure to hear those words, and Punchinello gulped down the food in his mouth without chewing it all the way.

"Best get a lot of rest tonight, son."

"Yes, father." The family finished eating then went to bed.

The sun broke through the windows of the Bomb Summoner house, and the light beat against Punchinello's eyes. He rubbed them then sat up in bed. He then got up and walked over to the kitchen, only to find it empty. His eyes caught the waving of arms outside, and looked out of the kitchen window to see his father waving at him.

"Practice before breakfast?" he thought to himself. That was very unusual. His father always told him to start his day with food. He slipped on his shoes and walked over to his father.

"Good morning, son."

"Good morning, father."

"All set?"

"Yes."

"Okay, today's a big day. I want to see if you can at least come close to summoning a king. Punchinello's eyes widened.

"But, but father, I'm still working on Mezzo Bombs. I don't think I'm ready for-"

"Your Mezzo Bombs turn out just fine. You're ready to move on." Punchinello silently nodded. "Now then, whereas you normally focus an amount of your energy, focus it all, then let loose."

Punchinello closed his eyes and concentrated. There was a rush of energy felt through the air, but nothing appeared before them.

His father shook his head. "I had such high hopes, son, but you're just a failure- a failure like the rest of your family."

The young boy started to cry and sniff and held his arms up to his face in shame. His father came up to him and placed his hands on the boys shoulders. He shook his son vigorously, saying over and over "You're a failure, you're a failure, you're a failure, Punchinello, wake up!"

He suddenly opened his eyes to see his father hunched over his bed with his hands on Punchinello's shoulders.

"You were moaning in your sleep, son. I had to shake you to wake you up," his father explained.

"Oh," was all he said in reply, then starting to cry again, clutched his father tightly in a warm embrace.

"Is something upsetting you?" his father asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"The King Bomb- what if I can't make one?"

"Then you can't, and I'll still be very proud of my fine son," he said with a smile.

"But you were so hopeful that I could do it! I would have been the first in our family to make one."

"You're speaking as if you've already tried and failed. Sure, it would be nice if you could, but not being able to is not going to bother me. Can you reach the moon from our yard?"

"Uh, no…"

"So would it be fair to get angry at you for not doing so? I think you have the right stuff to make one, but if you just can't, then that's that. Doesn't make sense to fret over something if it's beyond the person's ability. I could never make one, but my father always told me that he couldn't be any prouder of me, because I gave things my all. Just do your best, and I won't be disappointed."

"Thanks, father."

"You're welcome."

The sun began breaking through the window panes for real this time, and Punchinello excitedly got out of bed. He hurried to the kitchen to find scrambled eggs nearly done.

"Anxious about your training today?" his mother asked him.

"Nope, but I sure am excited," he replied with a big grin.

His father looked up at him from his newspaper, then turned back to the writing with a smile. The family ate their eggs without a word, and Punchinello practically leaped from his chair to head outside. Though his father wasn't finished eating, he scrapped the rest into the garbage and heading out to meet his son.

"Now then, the King Bomb takes an immense amount of concentration. Unlike the Micro, Bo, and Mezzo Bombs where you focus a small amount of energy from inside you, the King Bomb requires that you focus _all_ of you energy from _above_. Such an enormous summoning is too much for a body to withstand, and that is why they are called forth from the sky. Just make sure to aim outward so it doesn't fall from directly above you. If you tried making one by focusing on your body like other bombs, you could get seriously hurt or even killed." Punchinello gulped. "Now, let's see what you can do. Try it."

Young Punchinello closed his eyes and concentrated hard. His face began to turn red and his hands clenched into fists. His father eyed him hopefully, and suddenly, out of nowhere came- a fart. He turned even more red than he already was. His father let out a hearty laugh.

"That's why happens when eat your mothers eggs too fast. Heh, that's what happens when you eat them at all!"

"I heard that!" she called from inside the house.

Her husband cowered. "Anyway, he continued, "Just keep practicing that. I'll start raking these leaves in the mean time."

"One question though," Punchinello asked. "If you've never made a King Bomb before, how do you know how to do it?"

"An old Bomb Summoner wrote a book about his life, explaining his experiences, one being making a King Bomb. It was a very interesting account, and he touched on many important facts. For example, anger can interfere with a King Bomb's explosive power or may even keep one from being summoned altogether. If one manages to make one while enraged, it will likely be a dud. Anyway, I tried making one for years, but I've never been able to focus the energy properly. With your natural ability, you may just succeed where I could not." Then he quickly added, "But no pressure, okay?"

"Yes, father." And with that, his mother went about dusting their house, his father began cleaning the yard, and little Punchinello continued trying to make a King Bomb. Hours went by, and the family started to tire. Punchinello's father put his rake up and started to head for the house.

"That's enough for now, son. You'll exhaust yourself without a break." He quickly followed his dad into house where his mother had lunch ready. The table was very quiet until motion outside quickly caught their eyes.

His father announced, "The Mailkoopa is here." He opened the door and walked outside to his mailbox. He returned to the kitchen as he flipped through the letters.

"Bill, bill, bill, bill, bi- wait, this one's from my father's best friend." He tore the letter open and read the contents silently. He then crumpled it up, walked out the door, set the wadded letter on the ground, then materialized a Micro Bomb. He set the bomb beside the letter then stepped back. The bomb exploded shortly after, destroying the letter. His wife and son didn't dare ask what it said. As he walked back in, he set his son on his lap, and simply said, "That trip to visit your grandfather- I'm afraid it's cancelled."

Punchinello looked up to his father curiously, and was surprised to see that a tear had formed in his eye. He set his son down and started to wash the dishes. Punchinello and his mother exchanged worried glances.

Punchinello went back outside to continue practicing, his father began bagging up the leave piles, and his mother sat in her room reading a book. This continued until the sun was no longer in sight. At dinner, no one said a word. They all ate then retired to their rooms.

Late that night, as Punchinello got out of bed to use the bathroom, he couldn't help but overhear his parents talking.

"Bowser has gone too far this time. He's a fool for feeling threatened by us. Bomb Summoners, while strong, are peaceful by nature. We would never try overthrowing his reign. This war that he is waging against our kind is pointless and must stop. If he won't listen to reason, then I'll have to put my gentle nature aside…"

"No, dear. Fighting will only breed more of it," she told him.

"My father was out fishing, minding his own business when Bowser's troops came and attacked the village. His best friend was the only one escaped and sent me that note about his death. If Bowser is not stopped, more of us will die. He is making us an endangered species. He has killed thousands of Bomb Summoners, those who have done him no harm. His fear that our kind is growing too powerful and may upset the balance of power he's established is ludicrous. We have only fought in self defense. But now, that stops. I am going to request an audience with him, making him believe I'm going to sell my kind out. When I get close to him, I am going to utterly blow him away. We never sought war, but he has pressed me to this action."

"I know I can't persuade you otherwise, dear, so may I come with you to help?"

"No, it's too dangerous." He knew he might not make it out alive, but he also knew that if he told his wife, she surely wouldn't let him go.

Punchinello crept back to his bed and had trouble getting to sleep. He had a nightmare of his father dying during his mission, and woke up with a cold sweat. He did not want his father to go.

The next day, he walked in on his father packing. He said nothing, revealing to his father that he'd heard them talking last night.

"I'm doing this to create a bright future for our kind, son. Right now, Bowser is killing us off and that needs to stop."

"I- I understand, father." Punchinello said that, but he was shaking.

His father pulled him in close. "Relax, kiddo. I'm no pushover. Bowser's in for some real trouble when he meet me." Punchinello managed a weak smile.

His mother walked into the room, and it was clear that she had been crying. She kissed her husband, then ran back into her room and slammed the door. He sighed, knowing how worried she must be about him. Still, he knew this had to be done. He tightened the straps on his backpack and headed out the door.

"Punchinello, please, look after your mother while I'm gone. I promise I'll come back." And with that, he took off at a brisk pace down the road towards Bowser's Keep.

Punchinello walked back to his parents' room and opened the door without knocking. He went straight to his mother's side and embraced her tightly.

"He promised he'd come back, and he's never broken a promise to us before. All we can do now is believe in him."

His mother stopped crying and grabbed him, pulling his down onto the bed. "You are such a good son," she told him, rolling around on the bed with him. "Of course you're right. He is a Bomb Summoner of his word. Let's hold down the fort while he's gone so he has nothing to worry about when he gets home."

"Yes, mother."

**Six days later…**

The sound of marching footsteps filled the air. Most of the Goomba and Terrapunch families came outside to see what was making the noise. Punchinello and his mother ventured out of their house as well. Bowser was leading a small army of Terrapunches, Magikoopas, and Goombas into the village. They were pulling a tiny cart behind them with a very small cage on it.

Punchinello squinted his eyes against the sun and exclaimed in fear, "Mother! Father is in that cart they're pulling!"

"What!" she cried in disbelief.

There was no mistake. Her husband was held up in a tiny prison.

The army stopped, then Bowser began to speak. "Many have said that I am unfairly waging war against the Bomb Summoners. Well to finally put your doubts aside, here is the proof to validate my actions. This guy comes to my keep, saying he's from this town and wants a peaceful audience with me. Guess what? He then tried blowing me away, though I was of course able to take him down. Their kind is clearly trying to overthrow me. You didn't believe me before, but what do you think now?"

The Goombas and Terrapunches in the village started to murmur to each other in shock and disbelief.

He then continued, "What I do from here on out is now clearly an act of self defense. Let this be an example for those who wish to defy me." Then Bowser approached the cage with Punchinello's father, and began sucking in air for a massive flame attack. The Bomb Summoner was aware that he was dead either way, and with the cage so small he knew that he could not blast free without injuring himself. Before Bowser unleashed his scorching power, he tried once more to put an end to this.

"Mezzo Bomb!" A large bomb appeared in the cage, partially crushing him. Bowser was too late to notice and let loose a blazing flamethrower blast. Their was a large explosion, and Bowser was sent hurdling through the air. When the smoke cleared, Punchinello's father was gone.

Bowser seemed dead for a moment, but slowly got to his feet. He was burned, but otherwise okay. He grinned and said, "That's the only good thing about Bomb Summoners. When they die, they disintegrate to nothing; no clean-up is required."

"Father, no!" Punchinello screamed, starting to rush over, but his mother held him back.

Bowser turned in the direction of the shout, eyeing Punchinello and his mother.

"So, there were more of you in this village, eh? Time to put a stop to that," he announced with a sinister grin. He took a step towards them but staggered from his pain. A Magikoopa ran over to steady him.

"Punchinello, my son, I need you to be strong and run. Just get away from here as fast as you can. I will hold them off while you escape. Try and find more of our kind and keep training. If we both die, our family ends here." The boy stood where he was, unable to move from fear. "Go now or I'll blow myself up!" she screamed, and he finally found the strength to move and ran as fast as he could go.

She quickly jumped into action. "Bob-ombs!" Several medium-sized bombs started flying out of her into the troops, blasting them into the air. Bowser was hit by one and fell to his knees in pain. Bowser's followers started to scatter from the chaos, but a Magikoopa dove out of the way and shot her with his wand. She fell back from the impact, but managed to get back up and continue her assault.

Bowser lifted his arm, shouting "Crusher!" and a giant shard of earth came up from the ground below her feet. She went sailing into the air and landed hard, dazing her. Bowser limped over, looked down at her, and let loose his fiery breath. When he stopped blowing, there was nothing there.

Punchinello stopped short when he heard the loud rumbling and went back for his mother. He just could not bring himself to abandon her. He got back right as Bowser finished burning her, and losing both parents in one day made something snap in his brain. His mind just could not accept that he was alone now. In his terror, his body moved on instinct. He raised his arms, and shouted, "King Bomb!"

Bowser's ears perked at the name of that spell, and he turned to the boy in disbelief. "There's no way that kid could summon the king of all bombs, is there?"

The remainder of Bowser's army was suddenly covered by a shadow, and an enormous bomb descended from the sky. It landed on some of the Goombas, crushing them.

Bowser screamed, "Move!" and started to flee, but he could not do so fast enough. The giant bomb exploded, sending Goombas, Terrapunches, Magikoopas, and Bowser himself flying through the air. Some of them weren't so lucky and were totally blown away. The houses in the village shook wildly, and old man Terrapunch, who was sitting on his porch, spilled coffee all over himself from the trembling.

Punchinello walked over to the fallen Koopa King and said through his tears, "That was for my parents. I should kill you, but that would make me no better than you. But if you ever attack my kind again, I won't leave the job unfinished." The young Bomb Summoner bit his lip. If he was older, he would have killed Bowser then and there like his father had tried to do. But he was too young, too afraid to take a life. He turned and ran off as fast as his legs could carry him.

One of the surviving Magikoopas walked to his master and waved his wand, chanting a healing spell. Bowser groaned and got to his feet.

"That is the best I can do for your wounds now, master. I can finish fixing you up back at the castle where I keep the medical equipment."

"Where- where did that boy go?" Bowser managed to say.

"He ran off, sir, so we should consider ourselves thankful."

Bowser picked the Magikoopa up by his robe. "I have just been humiliated and injured, and my army reduced to a select few. What do you expect me to be thankful for?" he growled.

"S-sir, he could have killed us!"

"Better dead than alive with shame. I will not rest till I have that boy's head on a platter. Now move out, everyone. I need to get healed up and we need to regroup to get that Bomb Summoner. Regular ones are bad enough as it is, but one that can actually summon a King Bomb is a threat too great to ignore."

Bowser and the surviving members of his army marched back to the keep in silence.

Punchinello was still running, all the while wiping away tears. He had nowhere to go, so was merely running to get as far away from his village as possible. Night came, and his low energy reduced his pace to a brisk walk. He finally arrived in a small town. No one was outside, but he could see shadows still moving about from the lit houses. He banged on the door of the inn, and a female mole opened the door, only to discover an unconscious Bomb Summoner lying on the ground.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed, and carried him to a bed. She drenched a washcloth in cold water and sprawled it out over his forehead. She stayed by his side until morning came.

"Ugh, what happened?" he moaned.

"I was hoping you could tell that to me," a mole told him. "I found you unconscious at the doorstep of my inn."

The events of the previous day finally flooded into Punchinello's thoughts, and his breathing suddenly became erratic.

"Now, now, don't go getting yourself all worked up. Just try and relax. Here, drink this warm milk. It should settle your nerves."

"Thank you, miss." He gulped it down then set the cup on the nearby coffee table.

"What happened is your business, so I won't ask what you've gone through. I assume you have nowhere to go?"

"Yes…"

"Say no more. You can stay with me."

"I couldn't burden-"

"No trouble at all. Though, if you're that worried about getting help for nothing, you can help me keep up this inn."

"I will do just that, thank you. And my name is Punchinello."

"You're welcome. And mine is Emma," she replied. "He has quite the manners," she thought to herself.

Weeks went by, with Punchinello cleaning up the inn while the kind-hearted mole took care of him. Late one night, she approached her young worker.

"You're the finest worker I've ever seen. You give everything your all. I would like to start paying you," she informed him.

He was taken back. "No- no of course not! The work is very easy and you provide me with food and water, board, and great care. I should be paying you."

"You're sweet," she told him. "I can't have children, but if I could, I would like them to be like you."

Punchinello froze at those touching words. He dropped the duster and ran over to her, hugging her tightly and crying.

Emma looked concerned, but she simply hugged him back. That night was the first since his parents died that he had felt love. He missed that feeling so much that now that he had it again, he could barely control himself. He slept soundly that night. Emma was taking his pain away, and he wanted to show her his appreciation. Before falling asleep, he came up with a plan…

Emma stretched and got out of bed. She started the coffee pot and went over to wake Punchinello. She was surprised to see his bed empty and made. Suddenly, a small rumbling shook the town. She rushed outside to see some holes in the ground near her house. There were four of them, each shaped like a letter, spelling "Emma."

"Now I'm going to plant some flowers in here. Then you'll have a beautiful garden shaped just like your name to make your home prettier. I wasn't sure if I could set up the Micro Bombs to blast the letters to look right, but it turned out okay."

"You are so sweet," she told him with a smile. "I'm sure it will look beautiful. Thank you so much."

Emma hugged him, then he ran off to find some wild flowers. When he was out of eyesight, she turned to go back inside to tend to her coffee pot, but bumped into someone standing right behind her.

"Oh, excuse me," she said apologetically. "Wait, aren't you-"

Punchinello's heart sank when he heard a familiar-sounding scream. He dropped the flowers and hurried back to Emma's house. He gaped in horror at her charred remains.

"As long as you live, I'm going to define pain and suffering for you," Bowser told him.

Punchinello bit into his lip until it drew blood, and he shouted, "King-"

"Uh uh uh," Bowser interrupted. "We're surrounded by houses. A King Bomb will hurt these peaceful moles. It took me a while to find you, but at least I have the upper hand now."

Punchinello was trapped. There was nothing he could do. Bowser punched him in his gut and he keeled over, coughing and hacking.

"Micro Bomb!" A tiny bomb flew towards Bowser, but he batted it away like it was nothing, hitting Punchinello who was knocked back from the explosion.

"Sorry, but the only bomb that will do me in is the king, but you can't make one here. You're mine."

Punchinello looked up at Bowser, then raised his arms. "Sand Storm!"

Bowser was caught off guard by the swirling sands that filled the air around him. When the dust lifted, Bowser was trembling.

"What- what happened? What did you do to me?" he demanded.

"Bomb summonings aren't my only spells. My father taught me Sand Storm, which cuts someone's strength and defense power by half." Punchinello pulled back both fists, then wailed on Bowser, knocking him down hard. "I told you that I won't spare you next time. You took my parents, and now Emma. I don't care anymore how this makes me, you die now." The boy burned with anger, negating his judgment, and called forth a King Bomb from the sky.

Bowser couldn't believe that he would risk the safety of the moles just to kill him, but that is just what he did. The bomb exploded after mere seconds, and Bowser covered his face with his hands to shield against impact. He then opened his eyes to find himself unharmed and covered with soot.

Punchinello couldn't believe that his King Bomb did nothing. He had forgotten his father's words about trying to make a King Bomb while angry.

Bowser started to get to his feet. In his weakened state, he knew he couldn't kill the boy this time. He whistled, and a Magikoopa on a broom stick flew down. Bowser raised an arm and caught hold of it, then he and the Magikoopa flew back to the castle, leaving a very torn boy weeping over his friend.

The moles that weren't working in the mines came over to try and console him. He glared at them angrily and pushed them aside. He then filled the Emma holes with dirt and ran deep into the mines. The denizens let him be for a while to cool down, then followed suit to see how he was doing. His parents death had caused him to snap. Losing Emma broke him all the way. He angrily shouted, "Go away!" and tossed Micro Bombs at the moles to get them to leave.

As the days rolled by, moles came and brought him food and water. Punchinello never thanked them but just glared and ordered them to hurry and get out. Then one morning, an elderly mole came to visit him. He ignored Punchinello's threats and sat down beside him.

"I can understand your rage, and your need to lash out to relieve pressure, but you've been treating my moles harshly for days when they are only helping you. If you need to get your angry out, do it against those who brought you to this point. I'm sorry, but if you continue to be a hothead and threaten my moles, I will have to ask them to stop giving you supplies." Punchinello simply turned his head, and the elder sighed. "Do you think Emma would want you wallowing in self pity?" Those words stung the boy. "I'm sure that she would want you to make something of yourself. Don't sulk for the rest of your days. Make a name for yourself and honor the memory of those who've cared for you."

Punchinello said nothing while the advice sunk in. The elder got up, left the mine, and started heading for home. He was stopped short by the Koopa King and a small army.

"Where is the Bomb Summoner? Tell me!" he demanded.

"He left long ago," the elder lied. "You won't find him here, I bet my life on it."

Bowser snorted, then led his troops to a small area of the town next to the mine to speak to them in private. "I don't have the time for another wild search of that boy. I've got bigger fish to fry now. We can start looking again later, but for now, we need to work on retaking my keep from the Smithy Gang."

"He's right," Punchinello thought to himself. "I should make something of myself, become famous so my family's and Emma's kindness wasn't in vain." Punchinello walked towards the entrance of the mine, then stopped when he heard two moles talking.

"Ya know, I hear that ole Mario fella is visitin' Moleville."

"Really?"

"Yep. Both the new inn keeper and the general store manager spotted 'im inside their buildings."

"Wow-we. I'd sure love to meet a guy that famous. No un jumps and fights like he can."

"I heard one of 'em talkin' 'bout some kinda star."

Punchinello gave this some thought. A famous guy named Mario was visiting Moleville? Then his eyes widened. He recalled seeing a star deep within the mines, then a plan formed in his mind. He quickly ran back to where he saw it, and began pumping out Micro Bombs.

"If I can defeat this Mario, I will become famous and honor those who have cared for me. If he wants this star, he'll have to face me. Then he will feel the awesome might of a Bomb Summoner!" He waited around for a few minutes, and sure enough, an Italian plumber entered the scene…

**The End**

Author's note: My story ends where the video game picks up. Punchinello has appeared in one video game: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In the game, Mario and company venture into the mines to get the star piece and have to face off against Punchinello. I had always wondered what led up to that short scene, and I ended up writing the story you've just finished. Those who have played the game know the unfortunate ending to Punchinello's tale. For those who have not played the game and are therefore curious as to how things end up, there is a link to a video of the encounter in my profile.

Thank you for reading. Mario and all affiliated characters belong to Nintendo. The video in the link was not made by me so is property of the user you see when you go to the address.


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